Lacrosse: Mental mistakes haunt Machine at midseason

The frustration of the expansion Ohio Machine has turned to exasperation.

Shawn Mitchell, The Columbus Dispatch

The frustration of the expansion Ohio Machine has turned to exasperation.

At midseason, the Machine (1-6) sits at the bottom of the Major League Lacrosse standings, stewing over mistakes that led to three losses by four goals or fewer. The latest, a 17-16 home loss to expansion Charlotte last Saturday, sent the Machine into the All-Star break as a bitter bunch.

“Those are things that get guys thinking about how if they just scored that one goal in that one situation, it could have been the difference between a win and a loss,” Machine coach Ted Garber said.

All-Star attackman and leading scorer Chazz Woodson said the Machine repeatedly has shot itself in the foot.

“It’s just the mental mistakes that have been the difference,” he said. “It’s disappointing. Like against Charlotte, early in the game I had a one-on-one with the goalie. I have to finish that, but I got stuffed.”

That saved shot has been typical of the Ohio offense. The Machine leads the league in the percentage of shots it puts on goal (.663) but ranks sixth in shooting percentage (.287).The team is not beating opposing goalies enough to win, nor is it regularly controlling tempo and possession.

Ohio has the league’s best power play (47.8 percent) and worst penalty kill (47.6 percent). The Machine has improved on faceoffs, but turnovers in the midfield and questionable possessions in the attack have led to easy goals for the opposition.

Goalies Stefan Schroder and Brian Phipps rank 10th and 11th among the 11 goalies who qualify for the league leaders list, but they are hardly to blame for the team’s league-worst scoring defense (15.29 goals per game). That is a concern: The Machine roster was built with defense as its foundation.

Garber said he knew an expansion season would be challenging, but he expected to have more than one win at the break. He and general manager John Algie admitted that a veteran-heavy roster was put together in part to assure that calming, respected voices would hold the team together in case of a sluggish start.

There have been no signs of dissent or disinterest despite the struggles, and the signing of rookie Steele Stanwick has injected some life into the team. Stanwick has five assists in two games and is tied for the team lead. As a junior at Virginia, Stanwick was the 2011 recipient of the Tewaaraton Trophy, awarded to the nation’s top collegiate player.

Algie has not ruled out still making the playoffs. He said the late arrivals of Stanwick and other key rookies, combined with a veteran surge, could put Ohio back in the mix.

“And if not, we’ll just have to spoil things for somebody else,” Algie said.

He also hopes the team can revive its box office, though he said an average home attendance of 3,656 is “in line” with expectations.

The Machine drew a season-high 6,126 for its home opener on May 19, but attendance has declined in every game since. It drew a season-low 2,269 against Charlotte.